Railway-signal.



N0. 884,224. PATENTED APR. '7, 1908.

' d. S. SIMS.

RAILWAY SIGNAL. I

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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5 A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT onrron.

- JOHN SHERMAN SIMS, OF LONGBEAGH, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGXOR OF ONE-HALF TO EDWARD RICHARD MILLAR, OF LONGBEACH, CALIFORNIA.

RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 7. 1908.

Application filed May 22, 1907. Serial No. 375,056,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN SHERMAN SIMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Longbeach, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Railway-Signal, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in railway si nals, and its object is to provide means for istant notification of the condition of the track, such, for instance, as whether the track may be open to traflic or closed to traffic by the opening of sidings or switches, and also to provide means whereby signals may be transmitted from any desired point.

The invention comprises means for the visible production of signals by either day or night, the invention being more particularly intended for the display of danger signals wtf ile the absence of. any signal will indicate sa ety.

The invention is not designed primarily as v a block signal system but more particularly for the purpose of giving warning of the pres ence of a dangerous condition at a sufficiently remote point from the zone of danger to enable the engineman, in the case of a steam railway, or the motorman, in the case of an electric railway, to avoid such danger.

The invention is designed to display a semaphore signal or target which by daylight will show the presence of danger, and

by night the same signal will be transmitted by a suitable red light.

The invention is also designed to provide any suitable number of such signals for simul-' taneous operation on either or both sides of the danger zone, so that an approaching train or car may receive a number of warnings; thus, should the first warning be passed, others will'be seen before the danger zone is reached:

The practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a view, partly diagrammatic, of one of the signal indicating devices as applied to a switch along the line of railway. 2

is a plan view of the electric motor signal operating device; and Fig. 3 is a diagram of a portion of a system constructed in accordance with the present invention.

The signal indicating devices arezdesigned to be placed upon telegraph poles or other high structures along the line of way, and in Fig. 1 there is shown a telegraph pole 1 and one of its cross-arms 2. This tele raph pole is shown contiguous to one rail 3 0% a railwa track and the wing 4 of a switch, but it w' be understood. that the telegraph pole carry ing the signal devices is to be located at a considerable distance from the switch, such distance being sufiicient to enable the engineman or motorman to bring the train or car to a standstill provided the danger signal is displayed. As will appear further on, there will be a number of these danger signals displayed at still more remote points, so that should the first danger signal approached be passed, either from negligence or failure to observe the same, there will be several danger signals displayed before the danger zone is reached. I

Mounted upon the telegraph pole, preferably under the cross-arm 2, IS a box 5, suitably sealed, of course, against the elements and against malicious tampering. Within this box there is mounted an ordinary elec tro-magnet 6 of the horse-shoe ,type, and in operative relation to the poles of this magnet is an armature 7 fast on an upri ht'lever 8 hinged at its lower end in a suitab e journal 9 fast on the bottom of the box. At the other or yoke end of the magnet and still within the box 5 there are two standards 10 suitably spaced apart and having journaled in their upper ends a crank shaft 11 carrying a pinable into and out of the box 5 through a slot 18 therein. r J p Upon the shaft. 11 there is mounted a wheel 19 having an eccentric rim, one side 20 of which is so heavy as to overbalance the wheel and tend to always maintain it .in one particularposition, which partiular position will be that which will carry the switch target 17 to the safety position. This position, in the structure shown, would mean that the switch target 17 is drawn, up out of si ht into the box 5, through the slot 18, while t e dancontact with a c nductiirg able bulls-eyes 30-01 red g ass.

conductors 33-34.

ger position would be represented by the tarl ing danger and simultaneously light all the A 1 git 11, being moved into sight by being 1 V oppeo below the box 5 through the slot 18, whi position is the one indicated in the drawings.

which, being of the ordirary type, needs no description. The arm of this switch stand, by means of which the switch is thrown carries a contact finger arranged to make lhe arm 22 is electrically connect d to a branch. conductor 25 and the stud is electrically connected. to another branch conductor 26. Upon. each telegraph. pole containing a signal -mechanism, or at any other suitable point,

there will be located a number oi switches 27 which may be inclosed in. switch boxes 28, accessible only to authorized persons having a suitablekey. The magnets 6 are included in anelectric circuit, as will readily appear, and in series with each these magnets there is aneleotric lamp 29 arran ed behind suit- The lamp 29 may be inclosed in the same box with the magnet or in another box 31 attached to said main box In Fig. is diagrammatically represented one means of connecting up the signal mechanism. At some convenient point there is located a source of current represented'by the battery 32. From this battery lead two From the conductor 84 byxa branch. conductor 35 the current is led to a lamp 29 and the corresponding magnet 6 and from thence to another conductor 36 extending along the line of way. All the lamps and the corresponding magnets are connected in multiple across the conductors 34 and 36. The switches 27 are connected by conductors 37 to the line conductors 36 and by other conductors 38 to the lineconductors 33, and other switches 39 may be located atv the stations or elsewhere and connected by conductors 4:0 and ll to the line wires 36 and 33, respectively. Or, any other suitable connections between the switches and the line wires may be used, as may be found most desirable. Now, when a railway switch is so moved as to open a siding to trailic the circuit through the branch wires 25 and 26, which are connected to the conddctors 37 and 38, will be from the main conductor 33 through the conductor 38 and branch conductor '26, the contacts 23 and 24, the branch conductor 25, the conduotor 37 to the main conductor 36, thence through the magnets and'lamps and back to the main conductor 3d and thence to the lamps 29. light and the lamps at night so that; when a railway switch is moved to open. a siding to tral'lic the several signal indicating devices are set at danger so that approaching trains are warned in time. signal devices may be located at each telegraph pole', while on straight lines these de vices will be located considerable distances apart, depending upon circumstances. The switches 27 and 39 enable track walkers or The targets are visible inday- On curves, the

station agents to warn trains of open switches, wrecks, washouts, runaway trains,

or any other dangerous condition. When as to open the main track to traiiic, or a wreck has been cleared away, or whatever may have been the element of danger is eliminated, the circuit is broken, either at the switch target or at oneof the'switches 27 or 39 and the magnets beconde. denergized. Now, the-weighted side 20 of the wheel 19 causes the latter to turn by gravity to the position to move the armature 7 away from the poles of the magnet and to bring the semaphore arm or target 17 into the position indicating safety, and at the same time the lamps 29, .no longer being supplied with current, cease to glow.

1. A railway signal comprising an electromagnet; a receptacle containing the same a gravity member in the receptacle, moved against the action of gravity and by. said ity and moved into the receptacle out of sight when the magnet is denergized and the gravity member becomes active; and an electric lamp and danger indicating means cooperating therewith adjacent to but inde pendent of the semaphore or target and in series with the magnet, said lamp receiving I current when the magnet is energized.

2. A railway signal comprising an electromagnet; a gravity member movable against the action of gravity by said magnet when energized and consisting of a wheel with an eccentric rim, an arm actuated by said wheel, a pendent semaphore or target carried by said arm, and a receptacle for the magnet, gravity member and target in which receptacle the target is normally held by the action of the electro-magnet when energized.

3. A railway signal system comprising. a source of current; a pair of o en-circuit conductors leading therefrom a ong the line of way; a third conductor also leading along the line of way; electrically operated signal devices branched between one of the main conductors and the third conductor; railway switch operating devices along the line of way; circuit terminals branched between the third conductor and the other main conductor; means on the railway switch operating mechanism for closing the terminals there located when the said switch is manipulated to 0 en the siding to traffic, and electric switc es independent of the railway switches and branched between the third conductor and the said other main conductor.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 15 my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the-presence of two witnesses.

JOHN SHERMAN SIMS.

Witnesses:

W. S. SIMS, F. F; BAKER. 

